Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 20 : Rajasthan Royals won the match against Punjab Kings held at Dharamshala Cricket Stadium. Rajasthan Royals won the match by four wickets. Following the win, Rajasthan Royals batsman Devdutt Padikkal says it has been one of those seasons where I have been up and down personally.
Devdutt Padikkal scored 51 runs off 30 balls with five boundaries and three sixes. For his brilliant innings, he was awarded the 'Man of the Match'.
After the match in the press conference, Padikkal reflected on his season as he said, "Honestly, even I don't know what the difference has been [in Friday's knock]. It's been one of those seasons where I have been up and down personally. It's not been up to the standards that I would have hoped for. Again, every season that I come into the IPL, I just want to learn. I am still young and I am looking to pave my way in this game."
Reflecting on his batting performance Devdutt Padikkal added, "There's a lot to learn - batting at numbers three, four, five, six. I have done it all this season and I am really happy that I am learning with every single opportunity I get."
Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal both batted well and helped to chase down the target with ease. On the partnership wil Jaiswal said, "We both bat pretty well with each other whenever we have got an opportunity and we knew at what point who is playing the ball better and hitting the ball better. We were just looking to build a partnership. Whenever you lose an early wicket, you have to make sure that you take some time and just put the bad balls away. We were happy that we could push that partnership as long as possible."
After being put to bat first by RR, PBKS scored 187/5 in their 20 overs. They struggled against RR bowlers initially, losing their four wickets for just 50 runs in 6.3 overs. Then Jitesh Sharma (44 in 28 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Sam Curran stitched a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket to bring PBKS back into the game.
Then in death overs, Curran (49* in 31 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Shahrukh Khan (41* in 23 balls, four boundaries and two sixes) joined forces to up the run rate, taking PBKS to a competitive total. They scored 46 runs in the final two overs.
Navdeep Saini (3/40) was the pick of the bowlers for RR. Trent Boult and Adam Zampa took a wicket each.
In the chase of 188, RR lost Jos Buttler early for a duck, his fifth this season. Then Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 in 36 balls, with eight fours) and Devdutt Padikkal (51 in 30 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) stitched a 73-run stand for the second wicket, helping RR fight back. Later on, cameos from Shimron Hetmyer (46 in 28 balls, four boundaries and three sixes), Riyan Parag (20 in 12 balls, with one four and two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (10* in four balls) helped RR clinch a last-over thriller win by four wickets.
Kagiso Rabada (2/40) was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS. Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh took a wicket each.
Padikkal got the 'Player of the Match award for his fifty.
With this, RR is in the fifth spot in the points table with seven wins and seven losses. They have a total of 14 points. They can still climb up to the top four spots if Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lose their last match against Gujarat Titans by a huge margin and Mumbai Indians lose their last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad too.
PBKS's IPL 2023 campaign is over. They end in the eighth position with six wins and eight losses. They have a total of 12 points.
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